Dubliners by James Joyce and Shakespeares Othello - Book Report/Review Example

14 April 2007 Compare the female condition and the gender relations in 'Dubliners' by James Joyce and Shakespeare's 'Othello'. Literature is a record of impressions formed by writers during the age they lived in. It speaks of the norms and conditions that existed during that particular period. Every writer, whether consciously or unconsciously, is affected by the period in which he lived and imbibes some features of that time and reflects it in his work. Later on it is compared and contrasted in keeping with the ages to follow. Hence each time a piece of literature is read it can be viewed from a different angle. Each reader can analyse and question the presented idea in a distinct way. Two such books which have been interpreted time and time again are 'Othello' by William Shakespeare and 'Dubliners' by James Joyce. Since time immemorial, these books have been read as the specimens of colonialism, feminism, racism and from many other angles. One such much debated theme is that of female condition in literature and gender relations. In Ania Loomba's essay 'Colours of Patriarchy' a discomfort is expressed "with the way in which the analogies between gender and power relations in the Renaissance have been used to explicitly undermine the specificity of the former". But quite contrary to this thought, while speaking of the term 'gender', I share the same mind as that of Joan Scott who presented the concept of gender as, "a constitutive element of social relationships based on perceived differences between sexes, and a primary way of signifying relationships of power." The relationships based on the 'perceived differences between sexes' are that between a man and a woman, between man and man or between two women. In 'Othello' the men have varying attitude towards the women. For Othello Desdemona stands as a model of perfection and for Iago love is 'merely a lust of the blood and a permission of the will'. As far as the attitude of women towards men is concerned, Desdemona is devoted to her husband to such an extent that even on her death-bed she bids adieu with love for her husband, the one who killed her, with the following words: "A guiltless death I dieNobody. I myself. Farewell. Commend me to my kind lord. O, farewell!" Emilia, unlike Desdemona, is strong and independent and she recognizes the cunningness of her husband Iago and dares to question him when she discovers the truth about his intentions to destroy Othello. There also exists a bond between the three female characters of the play though each has altogether a different personality. All three - Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca - are victims of the patriarchal society and hence share a strong relation. In 'Dubliners' such a bond is hardly visible. Joyce's characters seem to share the relation of the colonizer and the colonized. The adults accept these roles whereas the children and the adolescent rebel against this force of colonization and thus are united by such a kind of revolt. The first three stories of 'Dubliners' show the attempt of children to escape forms of bondage and their quest of freedom. Whereas in stories like 'Eveline' the adult character chooses to surrender to the restricting forces. Gender is synonymous to authority or power. Power presupposes dissimilarity as the foundation of gender itself lies in the dissimilarity between human beings. If we consider the word gender relations in terms of power then it would encompass any relation that involves an oppressor and an oppressed; one who dominates and the dominated. This brings along with it sheer helplessness and lack of self-worth in the latter. Such relations are seen in abundance in both the 'Dubliners' and 'Othello'. In 'Othello' this relation takes a complex form where the oppressor is actually the oppressed. The protagonist of the play is a black Moor, much different from the Venetians whose general he is. A problem of being accepted into the group and vice versa makes it impossible for Othello to sink into a particular role completely. Along with Othello the one who too is an oppressed in all sense is Desdemona. She is clearly a prized possession, first for her father Brabantio, and then to her husband. This power struggle is also evident in 'Dubliners' in case of the young boys. The boy in 'The Sisters is a passive witness who does not dare to question his circumstances before the adults. The boy in 'The Encounter' tries to fight against his oppressors by skipping class in order to visit the Pigeon Field but is faced by a rather abnormal adult who puts an end to his quest and finally in 'Araby' the boy succumbs as well as rebels against the subjugation but gets as a reward adult control and tough realizations. A sense of abhorrence exists not only among the suppressors and the subdued but also among people belonging to different race. In 'Othello' it existed among the Venetians for the protagonist and also in Othello himself. Similarly it exists in 'Eveline' where the father detests Frank, a sailor and also in 'The Boarding House' where Mr. Doran hesitates to marry Polly because of the class difference between them. Physical abuse and coercion go hand in hand with power roles. Use of physical strength in order to make someone surrender, is a resort for each holder of power. Othello in a fit of jealousy strikes Desdemona and speaks harshly to her. As an act of renouncement she tells Iago, 'I am a child to chiding'. Similarly in 'Counterparts' Farrington takes a cane and beats his son till he offers to say Hail Mary if he does not hit him. This desire to tame lies in all those who bear in their hearts the desire to control. This control could either be physical or otherwise. This is seen when Iago expresses his views about Othello: "The Moor is of a free and open nature That thinks men honest but that seem to be so, And will as tenderly be led by th' nose As asses are". In this patriarchal hierarchy the persecuted ones are faced with conditions neither deserved nor apt. It is miserable to see Desdemona being labelled as a whore by Othello, the man to whom she has devoted her life. Similarly the conversation between the kids and the adult man in 'The Encounter' makes one detest the man who makes the kids confront what they don't deserve. Gender relations also involve reversal of roles. For instance in 'Othello' though Othello marries Desdemona, his sense of inferiority fails to go away. Iago being aware of this weakness takes advantage of it. Where on one hand Iago calls himself a 'duteous and knee-crooking knave', there on the other hand though being a subordinate he plots against Othello, thus taking charge of his life and rendering him helpless. Such a change of role is seen in 'Dubliners' when in a dream the priest of 'The Sisters' expresses a desire to make a confession to the boy and this alters his spiritual role. Women who normally appear as subordinate to men have in the form of some characters been given a different role by Joyce. In 'The Boarding House' partly under the pressure exerted by Mrs. Mooney Mr. Doran agrees to marry her daughter. The reversal of gender roles have often been described as being causes of contamination. If a subordinate ventures to over-step the boundaries set by the society they are blamed to have caused pollution. Such references are seen in both 'Othello' and 'Dubliners'. In the opening scene of first act of 'Othello' Iago speaks of such an infection when he tells Brabantio: "I am one, sir, who comes to tell you your daughter and the Moor are making the beast with two backs." The same idea is conveyed in 'Ivy Day in the Committee Room' where Jack blames his wife, the woman, to be responsible for his son's lazy, drunken state. Since his whipping and lashing did not serve well with the boy he transfers the blame on the weaker gender. A woman, who scolds, hurls abuses and who disparages is indeed not acceptable to the patriarchal society at any cost. So when a woman did so the expected reaction was similar to Mr. Holohan of 'A Mother' who, listening to Mrs. Kearney, reproaches, "I thought you were a lady". All roles are reverted back to their original state; all characters are equated by death. Death serves as a solution to all the inequalities that exist within the system. Death of the priest in 'The Sisters', frees the boy from the treachery that he might have absorbed later through his association with the priest. Similarly the death of Desdemona in 'Othello' unites her and Othello with each other and reinstates Othello's faith in Desdemona's chastity. Similarly the death of Othello makes Iago return to his position as a subordinate, now to Cassio. Works written centuries ago are now being revisited for a feministic reading of the work. And such a reading of the two works we are considering can bring to light the plight of the women during the times of Shakespeare and Joyce and even the treatment given by these writers to their female characters. For instance in James Joyce's 'Dubliners' the female characters lack subjectivity. They seem like mere figments of imagination or as mere illusions. They form a part of records of nostalgia either of the male characters of the story or of their own. They feature as 'the objects of male theorizing, male desires, male fears and male representations'. Most of the characters like Gretta, Polly, and Mrs. Sinico are nothing but remembrances for their respective male partners. In case of Eveline, from the story of the same name, she is no more than a memory of her past. Since she lives in the past there is no movement in her character and she seems trapped in those memories of her own. Thus in James' 'Dubliners', as Mulvey puts it, the women are tied to their place as 'bearer[s] of meaning, not maker[s] of meaning'. For Gabriel of 'The Death', Gretta is a means to satisfy his desires; a prized possession like Desdemona is for Othello. The idea of losing this valuable possession makes both, Gabriel and Othello furious. Gabriel's state is described as: "A vague terror seized Gabriel . . . as if . . . some impalpable and vindictive being was coming against him." And Othello's condition is well described by Iago when he says: "It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on". This apparent madness can be considered as the result of a fear of their possession being usurped by a subordinate or an equal kind. Subordination has been associated with women since long and it does seem to be the case with 'Dubliners' too. The sense of subordination lurks in Eveline which becomes evident when she states her desire to be a good wife unlike her mother and it echoes when at the end she sacrifices her free life with Frank and returns to her abusive father. In 'Othello' too Desdemona, subordinate to Brabantio in the patriarchal hierarchy, makes an apparent reversal of role by making a choice, choice of Othello over her father. This choice seems like having turned the tables but in reality it does nothing to change her plight as by making this choice she discards one authority only to accept another. Subordination goes a step further in both the works as men take control of the women in their lives and start deciding their fate. Othello, having trusted another man's words rather than his own wife's, decides that Desdemona has no right to live as if she continues to exist 'she'll betray more men'. Iago on the other hand decides the time and manner of death of Roderigo and Cassio who according to him could pose a threat to his position. Though women are shown to be assertive and dominating in some of the stories, yet, the major female characters of 'Dubliners' remain passive. In 'The Boarding House' Joyce shows Mrs. Mooney as strong enough to take her daughter Polly back from her father but this in turn depicts Polly as a meek, submissive creature who has no will of her own and who can be relocated from one place to another like a piece of furniture. Emilia in 'Othello' shares the same strength of Mrs. Mooney. She is outspoken and self-reliant yet she does not possess the courage to stop Iago's attempt to ruin Othello's life. In 'The Boarding House' where Polly is depicted as a girl who's mother sets her up to trap Mr. Doran, 'Othello' exhibits Desdemona's independent choice of marriage with Othello. But on the other end in 'A Painful Case' where Mrs. Sinico develops feeling for a man outside marriage, Desdemona of 'Othello' holds up the institution of marriage and guards her chastity. Where Joyce seems a bit traditional for his time, Shakespeare seems a little modern for his. But on the whole, in both works, they have dealt with ideas that must have certainly raised many eyebrows in their times. Therefore, both William Shakespeare and James Joyce present a more or less similar world of gender issues and a group of female characters caught up in the patriarchal world. The term gender if read in a narrow sense can restrict the reader's view whereas if it is read in a broader light it surely will yield fascinating results that one can reap forever and which would in turn, as Pam Morris puts it, enable one to use the positive images of female experience and qualities to 'raise women's self-esteem and lend authority to their political demands'. Works Cited Joyce, James. Dubliners. N.p.: Dover publications, 1991. Loomba, Ania. "The Colour of Patriarchy: Critical Difference, Cultural Difference and Renaissance Drama". Shakespeare, Feminism and Gender. Ed. Kate Chedgzoy. New York: Pal grave Publishers Ltd, 2001. 239. Morris, Pam. Literature and Feminism. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishers, 1993. Mulvey, Laura. Visual and Other Pleasures: Language, Discourse, Society. New York: Pal grave Publishers Ltd, 1989. Scott, Joan. Gender and the Politics of History. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. Shakespeare, William. Othello. N.p.: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Read More